PHOTOS: Café con la Comunidad helps Chesterfield’s Spanish speakers connect with county leadership

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Chesterfield County’s first-ever Café con la Comunidad gave Spanish-speaking county residents a chance to connect with their leaders directly Tuesday evening, facilitated by both bilingual staff and real-time translation technology.

8News got the chance to attend the event on Tuesday, Aug. 27. The Beulah Recreation Center was full of residents getting to know county leaders, learning more about programs and resources available to them and enjoying provided refreshments.

Headphone translation devices worn by county staff allowed Spanish-speaking residents to talk to them directly in their native language. The devices, provided with the support of Latinos In Virginia Empowerment Center, translate spoken words simultaneously for the wearer.

Dalila Medrano, Chesterfield’s Multicultural Community Engagement Coordinator told 8News that having county leaders wear these headsets reflects what this event stands for.

“Often, our [Spanish-speaking] community goes out to meetings and they are the ones to receive the headsets,” Medrano said. “Today, we switched it up a little bit — making sure that Spanish was the central language and giving them that direct connection to leaders.”

U.S. Census data from 2023 states that 12.2% of Chesterfield residents are Hispanic or Latino, with at least two family members per household speaking only Spanish. According to the county, this means Chesterfield has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the entire Richmond region and one of the densest in Virginia as a whole.

According to Medrano, following tonight’s success, the Café con la Comunidad will become a regular fixture of Chesterfield. Similar events will take place multiple times a year throughout the county, across its several districts.

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